The current Basque coat of arms ( es, Escudo del País Vasco, eu, Euskal autonomi erkidegoaren armarria) is the official
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the
Basque Country,
Autonomous community of Spain
eu, autonomia erkidegoa
ca, comunitat autònoma
gl, comunidade autónoma
oc, comunautat autonòma
an, comunidat autonoma
ast, comunidá autónoma
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Autonomous administra ...
. It consists of a ''
party per cross'' representing the three historical territories of
Álava
Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see.
Its ca ...
,
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
and
Biscay
Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao.
B ...
, as well as a fourth, void quarter. The arms are ringed by a regal wreath of oak leaves, symbolic of the
Gernikako Arbola
''Gernikako Arbola'' ("the Tree of Gernika" in Basque) is an oak tree that symbolizes traditional freedoms for the Biscayan people, and by extension for the Basque people as a whole. The Lords of Biscay (including kings of Castile and Carli ...
. The fourth quarter constituted since the late 19th century the linked chains of
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
; however, following a legal suit by the Navarre Government claiming that the usage of the arms of a region on the flag of another was illegal, the
Constitutional Court of Spain
The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...
ordered the removal of the chains of Navarre in a judgement of 1986.
Origin
After the end of home rule in 1839-1841, the Basque governments started a mutual approach out of common concerns in face of their exposure to Spanish centralism. The movement intensified after 1866, and a motto was coined, the "Laurac bat", 'the four make one', echoing the "Irurac bat" of the
Royal Basque Company, which in turn crystallized in a coat of arms including the four historic Basque districts in Spain (called variously
the ''Sister Provinces'', the Chartered Territories, the Basque Country, the Basque-Navarrese Country, etc.), to represent their common bonds, as claimed during that period by the chartered provincial governments, or th
1931 draft Statute of the Basque Country
In 1936, the Provisional Government of Euzkadi, presided over by the first president,
José
Antonio Aguirre, adopted the shield with the arms of the three provinces of Álava, Gipuzkoa, Biscay comprised in the 1936 Statute (the ''Basque Provinces'', as established in
the 1833 administrative design), and Navarre. The president of the government affirmed in the preamble to the Decree of 19 October 1936, and thereby approved, the emblem and flag that was to be used by the Basque Country. Thus the shield of the Government of Euzkadi contained the arms of Álava, Gipuzkoa, Biscay and Navarre in a single blazon of four quarters surrounded by a crown of oak leaves. The Provisional Government of Euzkadi stated that "the flag must be that which gathers Basque unity and which the use, ever more frequent in the Basque lands, has sanctioned as such symbol of their unity."
![El Diario Vasco 1936ko hauteskundeak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/El_Diario_Vasco_1936ko_hauteskundeak.jpg)
As an official shield, like the 1936 Basque Autonomous Community, disappeared after the
pro-Franco victory in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, but the coat of arms continued in unofficial use, it was even used in its flag by the rightist pro-rebel newspaper from Donostia ''
El Diario Vasco
''El Diario Vasco'' (English: ''The Basque Daily'') is a Spanish morning daily newspaper based in San Sebastián, Basque Country.
History and profile
''El Diario Vasco'' was founded in 1934 by the Sociedad Vascongada de Publicaciones, led by co ...
'' during wartime (data for 2 May 1937). On 2 November 1978, the ''Consejo General del País Vasco'' (General Council of the Basque Country), restored the republican shield, albeit modified as follows:
# The Álava quarter lost the motto "''En aumento de la justicia contra malhechores''" and both the designs of the castle and of the arm with sword were changed. The castle is now on top of a grey rock and the arm and sword are light blue in colour.
# In the Biscay quarter, the wolves of the arms of the
house of Haro
The House of Haro, La Rioja, Haro was one of the most powerful families of Castile during the Middle Ages and strongly supported the Expansionist nationalism, expansionist policies of Alfonso VI of Castile. As a reward, Íñigo López, Lord of Bisc ...
were suppressed in 1986 and the field changed from
gules
In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple).
In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
to
argent
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
, the
bordure
In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary.
A bordure encl ...
from argent to gold, the crosses from
sinople to gules, and the terrace, or ground, from sinople to maroon.
# In the Gipuzkoa quarter, the field changed from argent to gold, and the ground (the "terrace") was removed, leaving only the trees and the waves.
# The fourth quarter once contained the linked chains of Navarre; however, following a legal suit by the Navarre government claiming that the usage of the arms of a region on the flag of another was illegal, the
Constitutional Court of Spain
The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...
forced the Basque government to remove the chains of Navarre, leaving the red background.
In 1991 the Basque Government standardised the colours used in the shield.
Basque nationalist
Basque nationalism ( eu, eusko abertzaletasuna ; es, nacionalismo vasco; french: nationalisme basque) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation and promotes the polit ...
s, but not only, have used an unofficially recognised Basque coat of arms, the
Zazpiak Bat
Zazpiak Bat is a heraldic nickname for the Basque coat of arms which includes the arms of the seven provinces mentioned, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition ...
. It has been argued that it differs from the original one by being divided into six squares and by including the coat of arms of the
Basque regions in France. The motto "Zazpiak bat" was coined by
Antoine-Thomson d'Abbadie
Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie d'Arrast (3 January 1810 – 19 March 1897) was an Irish-born French explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer notable for his travels in EthiopiaAlthough referred to as Ethiopia here, the region that ...
in the late 19th century.
The quarters
Image:Escudo de Álava.svg, The arms of Álava are symbolic of the province's independence, with the dexter arm ready to fight its enemies.
Image:Bizkaikoarmarri.svg, The Gernikako Arbola
''Gernikako Arbola'' ("the Tree of Gernika" in Basque) is an oak tree that symbolizes traditional freedoms for the Biscayan people, and by extension for the Basque people as a whole. The Lords of Biscay (including kings of Castile and Carli ...
is depicted in the arms of Biscay as a testament to its importance.
Image:Coat_of_Arms_of_Gipuzkoa.svg, In the arms of Guipuzcoa
Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
, the champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
symbolises the Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
and the trees the tripartite division of the province.
Image:Navarre Shield.svg, The fourth quarter of the Basque coat of arms once showed the linked chains of Navarre.
Coa Illustration Tincture basic Gules.svg, Now it is fully gules (red).
See also
*
Ikurriña
The ikurrina flag (in Basque)EuskaltzaindiaDictionary of the Standard Basque retrieved 2010-10-04. or ikurriña (Spanish spelling of the Basque term) is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain ...
*
Quartering (heraldry)
Quartering is a method of joining several different coats of arms together in one shield by dividing the shield into equal parts and placing different coats of arms in each division.
Typically, a quartering consists of a division into four ...
*
Zazpiak Bat
Zazpiak Bat is a heraldic nickname for the Basque coat of arms which includes the arms of the seven provinces mentioned, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition ...
Notes
{{good article
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
Basque Country
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...